1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to systems and methods for electronic postmarking. More particularly, this invention relates to systems and methods for electronically postmarking including ancillary data.
2. Related Art
The use of electronic networks to convey information among networked users has undergone an enormous amount of growth in recent years. The ability to transfer data using computer applications, such as, for example, electronic mail (“e-mail”) and file transfer protocol (“FTP”) programs, has become increasingly important in personal, and especially, business communications. Electronic communication services have become invaluable to individual and business concerns.
E-mail is a well-known means of communication for individuals and businesses with access to computers and Internet connections. When a user establishes an account with an e-mail service provider, e.g., America Online™ or Hotmail™, the user is assigned a unique e-mail address, e.g., someone@inter.net. Another individual can send a message to the user by entering the user's e-mail address along with the message and sending it via the Internet. E-mail can provide almost instant message delivery among individuals and businesses over vast distances for very little or no cost.
Despite the advantages of e-mail, there are drawbacks. E-mail messages are insecure, and can be intercepted en route by unknown third parties. Individuals and businesses that communicate electronically need to know that they can rely on the address to correctly identify the sender and/or recipient
FTP allows a user to transfer files between two computers, generally connected via a network. If a system has FTP and is connected to a network, a user can access files available on connected computer systems. FTP allows for the easy transfer of large numbers of files, for instant access to files, and file sharing by many individuals over vast distances.
Despite the advantages of FTP, there are drawbacks. It may be difficult to keep files to be transferred secure and to control the flow of the electronic files. Individuals and businesses that use FTP for file sharing need to know that they can correctly identify the requestor and source of the file.
In addition to e-mail and FTP programs, other types of data transfer are employed in business communications. For example, buying and selling goods online, electronic funds transfer, online advertising, and accessing business information resources, is known as electronic commerce (E-commerce). E-commerce can improve the efficiency of current business processes and provide opportunities to widen existing customer bases. As the number of Internet users continues to expand, e-commerce has the potential to be the source of an extraordinary amount of revenue growth. In order to realize this potential, a variety of communication services and features will be required for e-commerce, which traditionally have been available in physical communication channels.
The United States Postal Service (USPS), an independent establishment of the executive branch of the U.S. Government, provides many features through a variety of document and package delivery services. The USPS is widely recognized as a secure and reliable means for sending and receiving packages and mail used for both personal and business transactions. Packages and mail sent via the USPS are physically time-stamped with an official postmark, which provides the recipient with proof of the time the item was sent. Additionally, once a package or mail item is placed with the USPS, the item is no longer in the sender's control, and thus cannot be recalled. Furthermore, packages and mail sent through the USPS are protected from third party tampering by Federal laws.
In contrast, electronic communication services and e-commerce services currently do not provide these features. As described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/675,677, filed Sep. 29, 2000, entitled “Systems and Methods for Authenticating an Electronic Message,” the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated herein by reference, an “electronic postmark,” or EPM, provides content and temporal integrity and identification authenticity for data that is transferred over a network. Such EPMs have traditionally been used to authenticate the identity of the sender of a particular message or to authenticate the time/date at which the message was created.
In addition to authenticating the electronic message itself, it would be advantageous to authenticate included ancillary data, such as an attached image, sent along with an electronic message. In light of the foregoing, it is desirable to provide systems and methods for electronic communication services and e-commerce services providing for authentication of electronic transactions by use of an electronic postmark including ancillary data.